


The Present Wrapper

by MusicLover19



Series: Christmas Tales [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Gen, Stilinski Family Feels, just fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 12:59:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17121830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicLover19/pseuds/MusicLover19
Summary: Stiles was hiding at the pack house, he had his stash of presents already in his jeep. He just had to get everything wrapped, more importantly, all of his dad's presents. Then he could do this at home, but he couldn't trust his dad not to peek, so here he was, one month before Christmas, wrapping the presents to stop his grown adult father from finding out what he had been bought.





	The Present Wrapper

Stiles had never been patient. It wasn’t his strongest character trait, and if given the chance, he would always have the instant gratification. He got it from his dad. Which made Christmas even more frustrating for the both of them. His dad had taken to hiding the presents for Stiles, typically at the station where there was always a trusted deputy to keep an eye on them and tackle Stiles if he tried to peek. He learnt that lesson early on. He had been tackled to the floor and handcuffed to his dad’s desk until he had returned to work. It was with a sheepish smile that Stiles admitted defeat.

His dad was just as bad. One year, Stiles had discovered the crime scene with horror. The gifts he had lovingly selected and wrapped where pulled from his closet and forced onto his bed as his dad rummaged and touched them all over. Stiles had found wrapping paper hidden around his room for that whole year. Fuming, Stiles had planned and drafted a contract. Under no circumstances, were either Stilinski allowed to breach the wrapping paper before Christmas Day. Presents unwrapped were fair game, but once wrapped, they were off limits. With some reluctance, his dad signed.

That eased the true pain. Now, Stiles still had to stash the presents in genius places until he was able to wrap them, but it was part of the fun. He stopped resenting his dad since Stiles was just as bad. This year, Stiles’ hiding place had almost been found. He had stumbled upon his dad, only moments away from the prized loot. Demanding to know what was happening, Stiles had only just salvaged the surprise.

As soon as his dad had left for work, Stiles was loading his jeep up, not trusting the man to stay gone for too long. It hadn’t been the first time he had returned quickly in the hopes of catching Stiles in the act.

Driving just over the speed limit, Stiles raced for the current pack house. It was the new Hale quarters, Derek and Peter having rented the space and offered it up for the teens to use when they needed it. It was _technically_ for emergencies, but Stiles would be damned if they turned him away. Stiles was willing to fight either wolf to enter.

Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. Peter answered the door, and upon seeing Stiles with several bags in his hands, stepped aside to grant him entry. Not looking a gifted horse in the mouth, Stiles hurried to dump the bags on the dining table. He could feel Peter’s eyes on him, but he steadily ignored the wolf as he pulled wrapping paper and tape out of one of the bags. He wouldn’t be long, he just needed to wrap his dad’s presents.

Stiles let out a curse as the first gift tumbled from his hands and landed on the floor with a solid thud. Luckily, it wasn’t breakable. It was Stiles’ ‘ _You_ _’re an old man, act like it!_ ’ gift. They always got each other a few gag gifts, ones that were so ridiculous that they were only funny to the pair of them.  Stiles’ favourite gift this year was the Police uniform onesie - his dad worked so much he might as well have something to wear during the night shifts.

Settling into a rhythm, Stiles continued to wrap the presents. He knew he had gone overboard. He had gathered bits and bobs throughout the year to give to his dad. It did mean that the pile for his dad was out of hand, and as much as Stiles wanted to say he wouldn’t take long, it was a day’s worth of wrapping.

Sighing, Stiles tried to find the edge of the tape. He had just used it, so it had to be able to be peeled. How it had wrapped itself up again, Stiles didn’t know. Exclaiming in joy, Stiles found the edge, only to curse as a slither of tape came off the roll. With a determined frown, Stiles tried to peel the tape again, this time sighing in relief as it came free as one. Things could be worse. He had the tape, and he managed to unravel the tape on top of all of that. This was the part of Christmas and birthday’s that Stiles hated. He had never mastered the art of gift wrapping - neither had his dad, but tradition and the _contract_ demanded wrapping paper. Stiles knew first hand how easy it was to peek into a closed gift bag. It was almost unfindable as well, especially if you knew how to reseal it exactly as it was. No, it wasn’t worth the risk - Stiles’ joy at Christmas came from the horrified unedited reactions of his loved ones.

Settling in for the long haul, Stiles pulled the boxes and wrapping paper towards him, cutting off oversized pieces of paper - since he didn’t was a repeat of constantly cutting ones too small to wrap what he needed to. Stiles found himself cursing under his breath as the paper moved an inch as he unwound the tape, or as the tape stuck to a bit of the paper he hadn’t wanted it to stick to. It was long until Stiles had begun quietly berating the scissors he was using either, for their lack of help in actually _cutting_ said wrapping paper. It didn’t help that each time Stiles called one of the inanimate objects around him a name, an amused sniff would sound from elsewhere in the room. It made Stiles’ eye twitch.

The cycle continued, Stiles would cut the wrapping paper - tearing it slightly as he did, he’d curse as the rip grew and as the paper moved, he’d cut the tape, only to hiss in displeasure when the edge of the tape managed to rewind itself. That didn’t even include Stiles’ groans and complaints when the tape he had cut free curled to stick to itself.

It was roughly twenty minutes later that Stiles noticed Peter sat next to him, the man eased the scissors from his hands and pulled the wrapping paper over to him. Stiles eyed Peter for a moment, tempted to ask him just what he was thinking, but decided against it. If Peter wanted to help, he didn’t want to risk scaring him away. Stiles managed to bite his lip, and let himself refocus on the task at hand. It was difficult to ignore Peter when he was so close though. Stiles had never managed it.

There was a smooth sound, and Stiles glanced over to see what the man was doing, only to stare in horror. Peter hadn’t cut the paper like normal. With narrowed eyes, Stiles kept an eye on him as he wrapped one of the smaller items. It seemed effortless. Peter didn’t wrestle with the paper, or the tape as he seemingly did everything without any issues. Trying to ignore him, Stiles went back to his mid-wrapped present, but Peter’s movement caught his eye again. The man had pulled another piece of paper from the roll and pushed the scissors against it - and that smooth sound happened again. The scissors didn’t even _move_ , and Stiles had never managed that bit of sorcery. He had thought it impossible, _gliding_ , it was nonsense, it only ever ended in ripped paper for him. Yet Peter had _managed_. It had to be magic. There was no other possibility in Stiles’ mind.

With a glare, Stiles caught Peter’s raised eyebrow. He determinedly turned back to his present and continued wrapping it. The snapping point was when Peter had managed to wrap a circular present, it wasn’t rumbled, and the paper was _smooth_ , all around.

“How the hell are you doing that?” Stiles finally snapped. He had reached his boiling point.

“Pardon?” Peter’s tone was surprised, but Stiles knew that it was all fake. The werewolf _had_ to know how impossible he was being. It was just beyond ridiculous. Stiles hadn’t come to be mocked by a stupid man like Peter.

“How are you doing it? It has to be something, it’s crazy,” Stiles complained, pouting at his own present, where the ruffled wrapping paper was clear.

“I still don’t follow,” Peter explained slowly, and it just made Stiles want to hit his stupidly attractive face.

“The wrapping,” Stiles huffed. “It’s unnatural.”

“Oh,” Stiles caught Peter’s soft sound as the man looked down at the wrapped ball shape. “I had a lot of practice,” Peter added. “No one else could do it, or had the time so I normally wrapped most of the things for the pack.”

Stiles’ frustration evaporated. He couldn’t be angry at that, and Peter had to know it. It was one of the first things Stiles can recall Peter offering up about his family. Stiles knew how hard it was to divulge the little moments, how difficult it was to verbalise the words and share the memories. It had been years before Stiles had told anyone about how his mother would always get him the same type of present, and how that first Christmas without her was bitter without the pyjama set that she would have gotten him. Even now, there was that lonely pain in his chest that he didn’t dare share with his dad. He had only told Scott in a moment of weakness, where he _needed_ to talk about why he was crying.

So, Stiles doesn’t glare at Peter, nor does he odder his sympathies, knowing that they would be discouraged anyhow. Instead, Stiles pulled another present closer to him, smiling slightly as Peter did the same. Between the two of them - or rather with Peter’s help doing the bulk of the presents, they were all finished in no time.

If Stiles returned to the apartment a few days later with the softest pyjama sets that he could find in Peter’s size, all wrapped for the wolf, it stayed between them. Stiles hadn’t been strong enough to say the words outright, but he hoped that Peter understood. He didn't  _have_ to be the grumpy man who stayed behind and stopping himself enjoying the moments around him.


End file.
